If the tests that Paypal is doing in the UK go right and get acceptance from merchants and users, we could be seeing a different turn of events in mobile payments. The tests that are currently being done in the UK with twelve merchants show payments being done without requiring a wallet and passwords.
The setup uses your face to verify when paying, the move here is to see if users can actually leave their wallets home and pay in a two step method by Paypal. The apps are Android, iOS and Windows phone and you check in by clicking the merchants name.
During purchase both the merchant and customer are able to see an interface, the customer will have a pay interface while the merchant sees the customer’s name and photo. Receipts are sent to the phone after the purchase.
This is being done in a move to see whether customers can accept to go paperless and wallet-less and just pay using the phone. Expected time of this going mainstream is by 2016. Here in Kenya, the Mpesa country, mobile payments are still on USSD driven UIs as majority of users are still on feature phones and dumb phones are commonplace.
We will indeed start seeing the need for a move to apps as an additional option with the increase in low cost Android phones, prompting service providers to provide a nicer to look at interface of transaction. Payments take several steps in USSD and this is naturally something that can be improved.
via CNET
